Conventional beers are usually straw-colored or darker colored liquids. Although colorless, clear, products have been made in the past by the brewing industry, those products were not beers and they were used as a base for flavored products.
The Goldstein et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,795 discloses a process for the production of a stable, malt beverage which comprises subjecting a beer to reverse osmosis using a membrane having a molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) of about 200 to obtain a permeate, which consists of water, alcohol, and organics having a molecular weight of less than about 200. The permeate obtained does not possess an acceptable beer flavor but it is useful as a base to which citrus flavoring can be added to obtain a flavored malt beverage.
A second Goldstein et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,612,196 discloses a method of preparing a straw-colored beer of low alcoholic content using a reverse osmosis membrane wherein a retentate is used having a molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) of less than about 100 for organics. However, the product, the retentate portion, obtained is not a colorless, clear beer.
The recent introduction and consumer acceptance of colorless, clear, cola drinks suggests that there could be a consumer demand for a colorless, clear beverage having an acceptable beer flavor and other desirable beer characteristics.